The Count Down
by Siorah
Summary: Quinn isn't sleeping and is about to wind up in trouble because of it.
1. Chapter 1

**The Count Down **

"You have five seconds to open the door." It had been quite the morning, Steve was pretty sure the pawn shop owner hadn't expected the grenade. Steve smiled as he thought about where he had learned the countdown technique from.

It was a great way to deal with a stubborn niece.

On most nights, Quinn went to sleep between 10 and 11 PM. Lately however the girl had been staying up way past her bedtime. This led to a phone call to her Uncle from her homeroom teacher concerned that Quinn was falling asleep in class.

Steve wondered at the change in his nieces sleeping habits. He finally got the full picture when he came home early Friday morning, around 2am after working a case for several late nights in a row to find Quinn awake and doing homework.

He hadn't worried about working late, as Mary was home.

As he parked his truck in the drive way he looked up to see light coming from the girl's room. He grew concerned thinking she was not feeling well.

He was more then surprised to find her at the kitchen table doing her homework. "Quinn, you do realize its 2 AM do you not?"

Quinn jumped at the sound of her Uncle's voice, "Hi Uncle Steve." she said quietly

"Hi. What are you doing awake at this hour?" Steve asked calmly

"I just had some things to catch up on." Quinn said softly

"Where's Mary?" Steve asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

Quinn shrugged "I don't know." she replied softly

"You have to be awake in 4 and ½ hours ,Quinn. You will spend tomorrow falling asleep in class." Steve replied

"I will be okay, I just have to finish my Math." Quinn said resolutely

"You need to get some sleep. Pack your stuff up and head upstairs" Steve said firmly

"I just have two more problems, Uncle Steve." Quinn said stubbornly

Steve sighed "I am going to lock up the house, you have until I am done with that to finish."

Quinn nodded as she continued to work.

Five minutes later Steve returned to the kitchen

"I am almost done." Quinn said

"Quinn, upstairs now!" Steve said firmly

"No, I have to finish this." Quinn said rubbing her eyes in tiredness and frustration.

Steve gave his niece a level stare "You have to the count of five to get upstairs"

"Uncle Steve!" Quinn said indignantly

"One"

Quinn glared at her Uncle."I have to get this done"

"Two"

Quinn shook her head in annoyance and continued to work on her math problem.

"Three"

Because she was now ignoring her Uncle, she missed the narrowing of his eyes and the stern look he gave her.

"Four"

Steve quietly stepped closer to where the girl was sitting.

"Five"

Moving quickly Steve pulled the girl out of her chair, and walked her upstairs

"Uncle Steve, I have to finish my Math!" Quinn said as she struggled against his grip.

Steve ignored the girls protests and walked her down the hall and into her room.

Quinn glared at her Uncle with all the indignation a fourteen year old could manage.

"I got a call from your teacher today. She told me you were falling asleep in class. Now I understand why." Steve said as he returned the girl's glare.

Quinn looked at her Uncle suddenly nervous "I didn't know she called you."

"She did, you want to tell me why you are staying up so late?" Steve asked

Quinn looked away from her Uncle "I just fell behind."

"We will talk about this tomorrow, Quinn. Now get to sleep." Steve said as he left the room.

Quinn sighed and sat on her bed, figuring if she waited a few minutes she could sneak back downstairs and grab her books. Twenty minutes later she crept downstairs and grabbed her school books. As she was heading back to her room she ran straight into her Uncle.

Steve stared at the girl "...And go to sleep now, means?" he asked in exasperation

"I just wanted to put everything in my backpack so its ready to go for the morning." Quinn stammered

nervously.

"Little girl, unless you want to be put over my knee, you had better be in bed by the time I get to your room." Steve said quietly in a voice that left no doubt that he would carry out his threat.

Quinn, deciding that discretion is truly the better part of valor, moved quickly to her room and got into bed.

Staring at the ceiling of her room she wondered how angry her Uncle was with her. She actually had a good reason for staying awake at night. But it was not one that she wanted to explain. Setting her alarm clock for 6am she decided to be up and out of the house before her Uncle was awake.

She really didn't want to explain.

The next day was truly miserable. As her Uncle predicted Quinn had a hard time staying awake in all of her classes. When school finally let out for the day it was a relief.

As Quinn packed her belongings up at her locker she received a text on her cell from her Uncle, telling her he was in the parking lot to pick her up. Still wanting to avoid the discussion on why she had been up so late, Quinn decided to pretend she did not get the text. She was heading out the opposite door of the school to try and avoid her Uncle when another text came.

_From McGarrett: 'Don't even think about it! '_

Quinn sighed, she loved her Uncle, but he had an annoying ability to read her mind. She slowly walked to the parking lot and found her Uncle's truck.

"Good choice" Steve said as the girl climbed into the passenger seat.

Quinn stared at her Uncle incredulously "How did you know..." then blushed as she realized she was admitting to trying to escape.

Steve stared at the girl with a raised eyebrow "I know everything, I hear all, I see all" he said dryly.

Quinn shook her head in exasperation as he put the truck in gear and began to drive.

Steve watched the girl out of the corner of his eye as he drove. One of the many interrogation techniques he had learned in his time as a Seal was silence. Quinn kept looking at him nervously waiting for the explosion that she was sure was to come.

The silence would drive the girl crazy and in the end would make her talk more then any yelling he could do.

Quinn was waiting for the yelling, or at least the lecture, to begin. When twenty minutes passed by, she began to get suspicious. Her Uncle was giving her the silent treatment. Well, two could play that game for the rest of the ride she pointedly ignored her Uncle.

As they pulled into the marina, Quinn gave her Uncle a confused look. "We are going snorkeling." Steve said as he slid out of the truck.

"I don't have my swim-suit and I don't think I can swim in my school uniform." Quinn said as she climbed down from the car.

For an answer Steve picked up a blue duffle bag from the back of the truck that contained all of Quinn's gear.

Quinn sighed, normally she loved to work on scuba and snorkeling with her Uncle. But today she had just wanted to take a long nap when she got home.

Steve lead the way across the parking lot and onto the speed boat. As soon as they were underway, Quinn went below to change into her swimsuit. When she returned, her Uncle had her take the wheel so he could do the same.

There was a method to his madness, so to speak. He didn't know why Quinn had begun staying up so late. Until the girl was ready to tell him what the issue was, there was only one course of action open to him. He suspected Quinn had been sleeping in the afternoon, then staying up late. He would break that pattern with an afternoon on and in the water. Quinn would be ready to sleep at a more normal hour this evening.

After stetting the anchor and flying a diving flag, Steve led the way into the water. Quinn, followed somewhat reluctantly. She was really tired, but once she was in the water she relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon

After an hour of diving Quinn was getting dangerously tired. Steve, who had been watching the girl carefully directed her towards the boat as she climbed up onto the dive platform she realized how tired she was. Steve climbed up beside her and sat for a minute watching the sun begin to sink below the horizon.

"How are you feeling." Steve asked as he removed his mask, snorkel and fins.

"I'm okay." Quinn said softly

"Okay, then lets do a night dive." Steve said brightly preparing to put his gear back on.

Quinn gave her Uncle and exasperated look "Okay, Okay, I get it." she said tiredly

Steve looked at his niece in amusement "What do you get?" he asked innocently

Quinn sighed "That I shouldn't stay up so late."

Steve nodded "Correct! You want to tell me why you have been such a night owl?"

Quinn shook her head "I just got behind in some of my subjects is all."

Steve shook his head "I think there is more to the story, Quinn."

Quinn shook her head "No, that is it."

Steve stared at his niece for a moment. "Okay, lets head in."

Quinn stood and followed him onto the deck of the boat. After they arrived back at the marina and rinsed their gear, they headed for home.

"How about cheese pizza and salad for dinner." He asked

"Sure, but aren't you going out?" Quinn asked

Steve smiled " Nope, the case is over. All I have to do tonight is watch the football game."

Quinn looked at her Uncle in surprise "You are going to be home tonight?"

Steve didn't miss the note of relief in his niece's voice. "Yes"

After a dinner of pizza and salad, Steve settled down to watch the game. After saying goodnight to her Uncle, Quinn went to shower and then turned in early.

Steve watched to the end of the game and was getting ready to head to bed himself when Mary came in.

"Hi Bro, whats up." Mary asked breezily as she sat down on the couch.

"Not much, how have you been?" Steve asked as he stretched.

"Good, I am going out in about an hour" Mary said with a grin.

"There is pizza and salad in the fridge if you want some." Steve said as he flipped the remote Mary's way.

"Okay, thanks! Goodnight." Mary said as Steve headed up the stairs.

Steve wondered how many nights Mary had been out late as he prepared for bed. Maybe, he reasoned, thats why Quinn was up late. She was uneasy about staying alone.

He stepped across the hall to check on Quinn, smiling when he saw the girl was sound asleep.

As he settled into bed he realized that didn't exactly track. Quinn had been alone at night before. He wished he knew why his niece hadn't been sleeping.

At four in the morning he had his answer.

The sounds of furniture being over turned and a terrified scream from Quinn brought Steve out of a sound sleep. Grabbing his gun from his night stand he quickly moved to the girl's bedroom. Carefully entering the room he saw Quinn cowering in the far corner of her room and a man sprawled on the floor.

Steve quickly hit the switch on the wall, flooding the room with light. He took in the open balcony door and tipped-over nightstand. As the man on the floor began to move, Steve warned him in a cold voice

"Stop, keep your hands where I can see them. If you move, I will shoot you."

The man looked up in confusion and said "Where's Mary?"

Steve ignored the man for the moment "Quinn, come here." he said calmly holding out his free hand to the girl huddled in the corner. When she stared at him blankly, he stepped closer to her reaching down with one arm to lift the girl to her feet then pushing her protectively in back of him. "Quinn, go into my room and wait there. Do not come out until I come and get you." he directed the girl calmly.

Quinn nodded and fled to her Uncle's room

The man on the floor began to move to get up "Stay on the floor, cross your feet and do not move. I will not warn you again" Steve said in a cold even voice.

"I am a friend of Mary's I was trying to find her." the intruder tried to explain

"I could not possibly care less." Steve said as he moved to Quinn's desk. Picking up the girl's cell phone he dialed Danny.

"Danno, there has been a problem at my house. I need a favor can you come over." Steve asked quietly

Five miles away Danny, who had been woken from a sound sleep, answered the phone expecting to hear a frantic Quinn. Instead the steely tone of his partner indicated that something had gone wrong.

"I thought there might be when Quinn's name popped up on my caller ID, is everyone okay?" Danny asked as he got ready to leave.

"Yeah, I just need some assistance. This guy broke into the house, I can't book him and take care of things here at the same time." Steve said quietly

"Is Quinn okay?" Danny asked with concern

"She wasn't hurt, but I am not sure she is okay" Steve answered in a calm voice

"I will be there in five minutes." Danny said climbing into his car, hoping he would get there before his partner decided to show the intruder his depth of his displeasure.

"Look, I was just trying to surprise Mary. I am her friend James, I thought this was her room." James said angrily as he began to sit up.

"If I were you, I would put your face back on the floor and not move or speak again." Steve said softly

James, wisely followed directions.

Steve reached for Quinn's bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. Pulling the bathrobe tie out of its loops, Steve crossed to the man on the floor.

"Put your hands behind your back." Steve ordered, when the man had complied he securely tied his wrists and pulled him off the floor and walked him down the staircase to the first floor.

"On the floor, legs crossed." Steve said giving him a firm push to the ground.

Danny rolled into the driveway five minutes later followed by an HPD squad car.

Not taking his eyes off the intruder, Steve opened the door to let Danny in.

"What happened?" Danny asked taking in the guy laying on the floor and his partners cold stare.

"This guy broke into the house scaring the hell out of Quinn." Steve told his partner with tightly controlled anger

"I was coming to see Mary, I wanted to surprise her." James said in a surly tone.

"You were..." Steve broke off angrily as he could feel his control slipping. After taking several calming breaths he said in a low voice "You broke into a child's bedroom. A fourteen year old girl who you managed to terrify. The only reason you are not going out of this house in a body bag is because I didn't want to scare her more."

"Look man, Mary said to come over.." James began.

Finally at his breaking point Steve stepped towards the man with a mute threat in his eyes. Danny stepped between them and leaned down and put a zip tie on the mans wrist.

"Stand up." Danny ordered firmly as he untied the bath robe belt and handed it to Steve.

"Mary said to come over. Its not my fault if she didn't tell me where her room is" The man said stubbornly

Danny looked at the man "You would be wise to shut your mouth now. Because, believe me, if you aggravate this guy anymore you will regret it."

"Look Man, you don't get it!" James began angrily

"No, you don't get it idiot. See that guy over there? The large angry looking one? He is the highly pissed off, protective Uncle of the girl whose room you broke into. He is capable of breaking you into about ten pieces without raising a sweat. So, if I were you I would shut the hell up before you aggravate me enough to let him do it." Danny said as he walked the hapless intruder out of the house and turned him over to the HPD officer. "Book him, breaking and entry."

After the black and white pulled away with the hapless James, Danny walked back into the house. "Are you okay?" he asked his partner quietly

Steve sighed "Yeah, I wanted to beat the hell out of that guy. He broke in through Quinn's balcony door."

Danny nodded "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, I need to go check on her. I sent her to my room while I dealt with that idiot." Steve replied.

"Okay, I will follow through with the paper work. You and Quinn will need to come in tomorrow to give a formal statement if you are going to press charges."

"Yeah, thanks for coming over. I appreciate it." Steve said

"No problem, call me if you need me." Danny replied as he left.

Steve secured the door and walked back upstairs. "Quinn?" he called not getting an answer he looked out onto the balcony through the doors attached to the master bedroom to see the girl sitting against the wall of the house behind the patio furniture. Stepping back into his room for a moment he grabbed the light blanket off the foot of his bed. Walking out onto the balcony Steve pulled the girl to her feet. After he gently wrapped the blanket around the shivering girl he sat with her on the padded bench that was built against the rail of the house.

"Well, I think I'm done sleeping for awhile." Quinn said softly to her Uncle

Steve wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders "No, I think its just going to take a little time for you to calm down enough to get back to sleep" Steve said gently

"Uncle Steve, the guy that was in my room. He is Aunt Mary's ..umm friend or something." Quinn said uncertainly.

"How do you know this?" Steve asked suprisedly

When Quinn didn't answer, Steve looked down at the girl and saw that her eyes were bright with unshed tears. He finally understood why Quinn had not slept well for the last couple of days.

"Has he been here before with Mary?" Steve asked gently

Quinn nodded without meeting her Uncle's eyes.

"Is that why you haven't been sleeping these last couple of nights?" Steve asked

"Its not that I mind, I mean, I don't care about... but its just that I didn't know who was here." Quinn explained awkwardly

Steve nodded "I understand, I wish you had said something about this."

Quinn shook her head "I didn't want to make anyone mad. "

"I would not have been angry with you." Steve in puzzlement

Quinn sighed "No, not with me."

Steve looked down at the girl steadily "Quinn, you are not responsible for keeping the peace between Mary and I."

"Aunt Mary found her own place, I know she moves in next week. I just didn't want anyone to be unhappy." Quinn said in a small voice

Steve tightened his hold on the girl "I appreciate that, but from now on if something is making you uncomfortable you need to let me know."

"Okay" Quinn said softly

"Okay" Steve agreed "Now let's see about putting your room back together and then I think we could both use some more sleep."

Quinn nodded and followed her Uncle inside the house.

Together, they righted the furniture and Steve pulled the door closed, making a mental note that he would need to fix the lock in the morning. In the meantime he secured the door with a useful zip-tie

"That will hold the door until morning" Steve said

Quinn nodded as she sat on her bed.

"Okay, I think its time to get some sleep" Steve said

Obediently Quinn climbed into bed grabbing her stuffed Seal and settled down against her pillows.

Steve smiled to see the stuffed animal he had given it to the girl on one of his rare visits home, she had been about five and had immediately named him Andre after a seal in her favorite story. He had fond memories of reading the book to the quiet girl.

"Hey, I am right across the hall if you need me" Steve reassured the girl as he turned off the overhead light. As he moved to shut off the desk light Quinn's voice stopped him. "Please leave the lamp on."

"I will stay with you until you are sleeping " Steve said realizing his niece was still badly frightened

"Okay" came the sleepy reply as he sat next to the girl

"I remember this guy." Steve said pointing at the stuffed animal.

"Yes, you gave me Andre when you came home after you became a SEAL. Grandad kept saying you were a SEAL but I didn't exactly know what it meant, I thought you were on a boat with real seals like I would see in the harbor. He explained that it meant you had a special job in the Navy."

Steve smiled as he thought about how a child would interpret the name of his job in the Navy.

When Quinn's even breathing told him the girl had finally fallen back to sleep. As he returned to his room and climbed into bed he tried to figure out what he would say to Mary.

It was not a conversation he looked forward to having.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Steve was up and moving around 9 AM. After showering and dressing he checked on Quinn and was glad she was still sleeping. The youngster had fallen asleep around 6am and needed more sleep.

Consequently Steve was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee when his sister came home. Mary came into the kitchen breezily "Good morning" she said pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Steve looked at his sister calmly "Good morning, how was your evening?"

"Okay I guess, I was supposed to meet a friend last night, but he never showed." Mary said in annoyance

Steve took another drink of coffee. "Take a walk with me."

Mary rolled her eyes "Why?' When her Brother didn't answer her she reluctantly followed him.

Steve lead the way down to the beach when they reached the sand he began walking along the waters edge.

"What's with the beach walk?" Mary asked suspiciously

"I wanted this conversation to be private." Steve shrugged.

Mary looked at her brother in puzzlement.

"Was the friend's name James?" Steve asked calmly

"Well, yeah, how did you know that." Mary asked suspiciously

"He broke into the house last night. He didn't meet you because he is in a holding cell at HPD" Steve said bluntly

Mary stopped in shock "He did what?"

Steve sighed and related the story of the previous evening.

"I am sorry he broke into the house, I didn't tell him to come over last night." Mary said in exasperation.

"I know that, but Mary, Quinn is more fragile then she seems. This whole incident scared her badly." Steve said patiently

"Well for the next two days I will be sure to live like a Nun." Mary said sarcastically

"Mary, what you do in your personal life is your business. I am not trying to intrude. Well, maybe I am because I worry about you. But Quinn is fourteen we need to be careful what we expose her to." Steve said quietly

"What you never have 'friends stay over' what about your friend Catherine?" Mary Asked pointedly

Steve shook his head "Not while Quinn is at home."

Mary rolled her eyes "Seriously, why?"

Steve looked at his sister "Because she's a kid, Mary. Because she is my niece and I love her. I am responsible for raising her, and I take that very seriously. "

Mary shook her head "Better you then me."

Privately, Steve agreed with that statement whole-heartedly.

"I mean you have been saddled with a teenager, really Steve, how unfair was Dad being to you." Mary said in disgust.

"Mary, I volunteered a long time ago. I have been the 'Guardian ad Litum' for Quinn since she came to live with Dad." Steve said calmly

Mary looked at her brother in surprise.

"Well, at least the man had the sense to look out for one member of his family." Mary said angrily beginning to walk back towards the house.

Steve sighed, he was not sure why his Father had ultimately sent his children away from the Island, but he knew instinctively it had been the wrong thing to do. In some ways, he had always been surprised his Father had chosen to raise Quinn. Maybe it was a second chance to do the right thing.

"Mary, wait." Steve said as he followed his Sister down the beach.

"Steve, leave me alone." Mary said continuing to walk.

Steve quickly caught up with his Sister and stood in front of her. "I don't know why he sent us away Mary. But Quinn had nothing to do with it. I think Quinn was a second chance for him to at least raise Michael's child for him. But whatever the reason the girl is not at fault. We are her family, we need to take care of her."

"You do, I have no such responsibility." Mary said softly as she walked away.

Steve watched his sister walk away from him sadly. He understood how angry she was with their Father. He wished that they had been sent away together, he would have liked to have been a better influence on Mary's life. Instead, they were separated and both felt abandoned.

But that wouldn't happen to Quinn, not on his watch. He would find a way to help Mary as well. He was home now and it was time he reclaimed his family.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking up the gentle slope of the beach to the backyard, Steve realized he had a decision to make. Should he press charges against Mary's friend James. When he stepped into the house he saw that Mary had retreated to her room and Quinn was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a diet coke. The girl glanced at him uncertainly, looking miserably between Mary's closed door and her soft drink.

Steve decided the best way to cheer the girl up was to give her a huge dose of Uncle Steve style teasing. Entering the kitchen he stopped and stared at Quinn's beverage of choice. Then he sighed dramatically and opened the refrigirator door wide "Orange Juice, Grape Juice, water, milk" he said pointing to each beverage in turn. "These are wonderful breakfast drinks that go with, oh I don't know, this wonderful thing called breakfast food."

He moved to sit next to Quinn to continue his breakfast food rant.

"Diet Coke, Quinn Marie, does not even make the list of real food, more less a proper breakfast food." He said picking up her coke can. "Look it even says : Really bad for you, no nutritional value whatsoever!"

This made Quinn giggle "Uncle Steve, it does not say that."

Steve paused in his lecture and refilled his coffee mug from the carafe on the table.

Quinn looked pointedly at the cup of coffee Steve was pouring.

"Uncle Steve, you drink Navy Coffee." Quinn said ironically "If anything is classified as a hazardous beverage, that is it."

Steve gave his niece a mock glare "Navy Coffee? Just what is wrong with my coffee?" he asked

Quinn paused as she took another drink of her soda "Nothing, if you don't mind drinking something that can remove paint from the walls because the coffee grounds have built up for ten years"

Steve rolled his eyes, then fixed the girl with a glare. "What are you eating for breakfast?"

Quinn shrugged and pointed to her can of diet coke.

Steve frowned at the girl

"I'm not really hungry, Uncle Steve." Quinn said softly

"Yeah, guess what? You need to eat, and you are not leaving this table until you consume something other then carbonated water and caffine." Steve said giving her braid a gentle pull as he walked past her and opened the kitchen cabinets.

"Now, I happen to be a champion cinnamon toast cook. So, how about some cinnamon toast?" Steve asked as he began to mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

"Okay, can I help?" Quinn asked

"Can you make toast without burning the house down?" Steve asked as he added butter to the mixture he was working on.

Quinn rolled her eyes, nodded, and walked over to the toaster.

As they worked, Steve asked his niece about plans for the day.

"I have laundry to do and homework to catch up on." Quinn said as she handed her Uncle a plate of toast.

Steve began to spread the cinnamon butter on the toast. "Okay, I have to go into the office for a few hours, but then I will be home."

Quinn nodded "Alright"

As the two began to eat their toast, Mary came out of her room. She crossed to the door without saying a word closing it with a slam as she left.

Quinn looked sadly at the door. "She is really mad."

Steve shook his head "Not at you."

Quinn shook her head silently "I think she is." she whispered

Steve shook his head "Trust me, she is not mad at you."

Quinn nodded and began to clear the table.

Steve grabbed his keys and phone "Okay, I will be back later. Call me on my cell if you need me."

As Steve drove towards the headquarters building he pondered what to do with James. He opted to handle it himself.

Steve called the holding cells at HPD "This is Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, please have the suspect that Detective Williams brought in last night transferred to the 5-0 interrogtation room."

When he entered the office, he was not surprised to find Danny waiting for him. "Hey, the guy is in the interview room."

"Yeah, I need to talk to him." Steve said moving towards the interrogation room.

"I am coming with you." Danny said firmly

Thirty minutes later, Steve released the suspect without filing charges. This was after making it very clear to the man that he should never even think about visiting the McGarrett house again. He was pretty sure the man recognized exactly how unhealthy that would be for him.

On the drive home Steve called Mary on her cell phone. He was not surpised to have it go directly to voice mail.

"Mary, the situation with James has been handled, call me if you want the details." Steve said calmly

Driving his truck towards home, Steve planned the rest of his day out. He had some work to do around the house, then he and Chin planned to do some spear fishing in the evening.

Hopefully, it would be a quiet Saturday afternoon and evening.


End file.
